


Blooming

by imagining_love



Category: New Amsterdam (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-08-28 07:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagining_love/pseuds/imagining_love
Summary: Dr. Bloom drowns herself with work, and Nurse Casey extends a helping hand





	1. From the Dam to the Bronx

Dr. Lauren Bloom is perceived as a powerhouse among the staff for staying overtime and caring for her patients. It only took one mistake, one, for Nurse Casey to change his perspective. He took her ibuprofen bottle pills for his headache, and discovered Bloom’s secret. She switched the pills with Adderall, claiming it was for her ADHD. Maybe it started out like that, but Casey called her out.

“Then why do you keep it in an ibuprofen bottle? You’re killing yourself for this job” he said, knowing he was overstepping the professional boundaries, but he was genuinely worried for her. She’s been taking longer hours, moonlighting before her shift and barely leaving the hospital. Dedicating her time for work and eliminating her social life.

Casey wanted her to go home and rest, so he started reminding her about rules disallowing doctors to stay over 12 hours every chance he got. Yet, Bloom never listened and continued on her downward trajectory.  That’s how Doctor and Nurses relationship are. Doctors dismiss any sound advice, and always think they are right even when they are wrong.

Bloom was clearly exhausted, slow at taking decisions, almost costing one patient his life. Casey needed to intervene before she made a fatal mistake.

He waited at the exit of the Bronx hospital, where she started to volunteer whenever its possible.

“Bloom!” He called her name when she made her way out.

She looked around, squinting her eyes to search for the source, and found Casey wearing a black hoodie and baggy jeans, leaning against the wall. She rarely saw him dressing casually outside of work.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“You never rest, do you?” He avoided the question, not wanting to tell her that he asked the Bronx Hospital nurses to inform him whenever Bloom volunteered. They thought he had a crush on her, and he played along with it.

“You’re starting a shift?” She persisted, wanting to know why he’s waiting outside the hospital.

“No, they just told me they’re full. Want to grab coffee?” He avoided her question again.

She eyed him suspiciously, knowing that the hospital does not turn any form of help away. She couldn’t figure out any other reason why he’d be there other than work. Seeing that he stole hospital food, he needed the money unlike her.

“Well, my shift at New Amsterdam—“ she started to reject his offer.

“Does not start until 4 hours. I know a good place. Come.” he cut her off.

The numerous times she came to the Bronx, she never walked around the neighborhood. She agreed to his offer, and they walked side by side to the nearest coffee shop.  It was a small cozy coffee shop managed by two elderly Mexican couple.

Casey ordered hot chocolate for the two. Her favorite drink, which she lately substituted it with Black Coffee for the caffeine.

“No energy drinks?” she mocked his usual choice of drink.

“Maybe later” he answered with a smile.

“You were right, Bronx ED never stops” she said with glee.

“Sounds like you want to work there” Casey soused out a suspicion.

“Well…they offered me a job with less pay and lower position” she confessed.

“And you’re considering it?!” Casey was shocked.

“Maybe” she answered with a shrug. She was thinking of changing hospitals to get away from Reynolds and Evie, who were annoyingly happily dating and getting serious very quick. “Time flies by when I’m there” she tried to explain.

“It’s a warzone over there, trust me I know” he hoped he could sway her, but it had the opposite effect.

She wanted to just be in the moment, and stop thinking about her empty life.

 “I have to answer this” he said apologetically when his phone rang and promised to not take long. He walked outside the coffee shop, leaving Bloom sitting alone.

She looked at her phone, checking her messages, searching for a message from Reynolds and there wasn’t any. Hating herself for still pinning over someone that said she doesn’t have a place in his life plan. She rested her head against the wall, looking at the traffic, and Bloom started to doze off. Just a few minutes of shut eye, she promised herself.

When Bloom opened her eyes, it was dark outside, and her head was resting on a curled up piece of clothing. She raised her head to see Casey hoodie-less. Her pillow was his hoodie.

 “How long was I asleep?” She asked.

“3 hours. Wanna eat something?” he replied.

 “I’ll be late” she declined and Casey stopped her by tugging at her sleeves.

“You won’t be” he promised.

“Fine” she surrendered easily. The way he looked at her, and the gentleness of his voice told her to stay.

They ordered almost half of the menu since she was hungry and he really likes food.

“Did you track me down today to make me sleep and eat?” Bloom finally realized his motives and asked the question directly.

He raised his hands “You got me” and smiled widely, still munching on the food.

“You’re unbelievable!” She started to laugh, touched at how much he cared for her wellbeing, that he’d do all of this for her. It felt nice being taken care of for once.

“If you move to the Bronx, you won’t have someone like me” Casey teased. He would love to go work besides her, but the pay in the Dam was better.

“I don’t think there is anyone like you. Tattooed charming vet nurse.” she agreed.

“Oh! You think I’m charming?” He said with his eyes lit up with amusement. He never thought Dr. Bloom thought of him anything other than a helping hand.

Bloom found herself tracing her eyes down to his lips and quickly looked away. Was she that desperate for attention? To find someone appealing only when he showed an ounce of attention.

“Thank you for this” she paid the bill and quickly ran out to get a cab.

“Hey, I’m coming with you. We work together. Remember?” he said, following her into the cab and sitting next to her.

 ‘He’s younger, never showed any interest, and I am his boss!’ she reminded herself while her face burned up.

She kept silent, looking out of the window, and avoiding looking at him.

“Did I say something?” he asked, noticing her silence, leaning closer to her body, trying to get a better look of her face.

“No, no. I just remembered work stuff” she lied. Bloom could feel his warm breath on her neck and thanked god that they arrived at the hospital in the nick of time.

She quickly went to the locker room to change, and had no idea how she would work besides him for the rest of the day. Bloom kept sending him on errands until he cornered her in the corridor.

“It seems you don’t want me around. If I overstepped, then tell me.” Casey faced her.

“No, it’s not that” she denied.

“So, there is something. Tell me.” He stepped closer.

Bloom pulled him into the on-call room, and Casey braced himself for what came next. Except he did not expect for Bloom to pull him from his top to reach his lips. The moment of shock passed and instinct took over. He pressed his lips harder as his body brushed against hers. She locked the door, signaling for him to take the next step, and he did. He lifted her body then laid her on the bed. He traveled his lips down her neck causing her to bite her lips with pleasure. She wanted more. Bloom took his hand and guided in underneath her top.  He played around with her nipples, tugging and pulling at it.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Dr. Bloom, I need you.” Dr. Walsh, her resident, called for her.

The knocking pulled them out of the trance they were under and she quickly gathered herself.

“I’m coming. You go ahead” She yelled.

“Bloom,” Casey whispered her name before she left the room “We should talk”

“I’d rather not” she replied, not looking back as she exited.


	2. The unexpected

Bloom stonewalled Casey for the remainder of the day, and he backed off understandably. Bloom went to the locker room to get her ID and jacket before heading to Bronx General to work another shift. On her way, she crossed path with Casey at the subway station.

Frazzled at the sight of him, she walked a couple of steps towards the other direction, causing Casey to roll his eyes and follow her.

“Are you seriously avoiding me?” He called her.

“Oh, hey I didn’t see you” Bloom lied with a fake smile.

“Look Bloom, you kissed me. I don’t deserve being treated like this.” He confronted her, feeling hurt that she wants to avoid him completely, even outside of work.

“I’m sorry for not thinking… and now things has changed between us” she apologized while her face burned red.

“Then let it change, maybe it will be for the better” He said looking directly at her meaning every word. Never in his dreams did he think he’d have a small chance with Bloom, now he found himself holding on to it.

 “We work together” She placed the first obstacle.

“I can compartmentalize. Served in Afghanistan. Remember?” He answered.

“I’m older” She placed another obstacle.

“--and hot.” He added, not seeing it as an issue.

“What would your family and friends think about me?” She asked, having Floyd’s words circle in her mind about not being accepted by him or his family for the color of her skin.

“Who cares” He leaned down and kissed Bloom, hoping that this will answer all her questions.

She kissed him back, forgetting that they were at the train station, among onlookers. She scoffed at public make outs, and now she having one with her nurse. That’s what excited her, the unexpected.

Casey Acosta is the polar opposite of Floyd Reynolds. He is easy going, spontaneous and fun.  Something she desperately wanted in her life.

“Come home with me, Casey” she said in one breath. She was able to find the courage to face her empty apartment by having him by her side.

He nodded and followed her into the prestigious neighborhood. He knew Lauren didn’t need the money, but now he’s starting to believe her family invented money when he saw the doorman greeting them.

His body felt tense, feeling a bit out of place. Everything that surrounded him costs more than his livelihood. Bloom opened the door to her apartment, and Casey slowly walked in while his eyes scanned the place. Sensing his hesitation, Bloom guided him to the living room.

“If you don’t mind me saying, you’re richie rich” referring to his favorite movie while growing up.

“Richer rich” Bloom joked and could see that Casey believed that she was richer than a fictional character.

She guided him to the living room, and took out a bottle of scotch and sat beside him.

“You have all of this for yourself?” He asked, casually stretching his arm, and wrapping it around her shoulder.

“I used to live with my grandma, but she passed away a month ago… and left all of this to me.” She said with a little shrug. She wasn’t comfortable talking about her private life, but she found herself talking about it with him.

“Sorry for your loss” he said, pulling her into an embrace. Casey does not recall Bloom ever taking a day off. He knew she did not attend her funeral, and wondered why.

Bloom rested her head on his chest, and the rhythm of his heartbeats soothed her. She did not realize that she drifted to sleep on top of him.

Casey knew how much she needed sleep and she looked so peaceful he did not want to disturb her. He gently carried her to one of the bedrooms of her lavish apartment and tucked her in.

* * *

Multiple alarms woke Bloom up from her somber sleep. She couldn’t remember how she got into bed and noticed that the other side was empty.

‘Guess he left’ she presumed and proceeded to take off her clothes while heading to the bathroom, only to find a fully clothed Casey facing her in the corridor.

“Casey!” Bloom yelled while running back to her room and at the same time covering her exposed private parts.

Casey couldn’t look away, and had a huge smile plastered on his face.

 “I thought you left!” She said as she came back wearing a robe and tried to justify what just transpired.

“I slept in the other room. Wanted to try sleeping like the 1%” he joked.

Bloom tried to act casual, but she couldn’t get over the fact that she basically flashed him.

“Relax, I would have seen your naked body anyway if you hadn’t slept _on_ me” he joked.

“Shut up” Bloom said with an amused smile.

Both were thinking the same thing. Sex. But, their shift is about to start and they had to leave.

They walked into the hospital separately and practiced compartmentalizing until they couldn’t.

Casey texted ‘Roof’ and Bloom rushed there. He greeted her with a hungry kiss.

“Hi” she said bashfully when she broke the kiss to breath.

“Hey” he said between pants. “I’ve wanted to do this all day”

“What happened to compartmentalizing?” she teased.

He let out a loud laugh, and admitted that he failed. All day, his thoughts were consumed by her naked body. He wanted to have it. Now. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her body closer.

Someone might walk in on them. That thought excited Bloom and she allowed Casey’s hand to travel downwards. He pulled off her pants and she helped him take off his top.

Casey with a single motion picked her up and penetrated her while standing up. A first for her. None of her ex-lovers had his strength. Bloom held back her scream as he started thrusting faster and harder until she couldn’t. Casey muffled her scream with a kiss then stopped. They quickly wore their clothes and left the roof in case security was alerted about a scream.

They both realized their mistake in having sex at work. They couldn’t enjoy it to its full extent still that did not stop them from doing the deed all over the work place.

“We should be more careful” Casey warned when someone banged on the on-call room door.

“I don’t want to anymore” Bloom confessed. She felt ready to take their relationship public.  

However, Casey had his own reservations. He also wanted to go public and to get there, he had to tell her the truth.

“I have something to tell you” Casey spoke.

Bloom started to worry when she saw how serious he was.

“I have a past. I don’t talk about it, but I figured you should know. I had a rough upbringing. I uh rolled with the wrong crowd and I stopped when my brother was shot down by a competing gang. So, I enrolled in the army. Once I’ve completed the 8 years of service, I got these tattoos on my hands and neck to prevent me from going back… but I have been saving money to remove those tattoos”

“You want to go back?” Bloom asked, unable to mask the hurt.

“I haven’t decided, but it’s something I am considering… and I wanted you to know” Casey stated.

The first thought that came to Bloom’s mind is another man with a plan that did not include her.

Bloom needed time to digest the news and asked Casey for space.

 


	3. Mine's better

Bloom’s heart sunk when she saw bandages over Casey’s neck and hands. He has started the tattoo removal process and that mean he’s closer to reenlisting.

It has been a week since Bloom asked for space. A grueling week. They worked side by side, not even talking or joking about anything outside of work.

This time they were able to compartmentalize their feelings, and the nurses did notice that the two were not close anymore.

“He finally was able to get on your nerves. Welcome to the club” said Nurse Karen. 

Bloom played along with it and enjoyed hearing the stories about Casey from the disgruntled nurses. She wanted to hear anything that will make it easy to hate him, cut him off from her life. But, the stories had the opposite effect. Her eyes diverted to his direction, finding herself smiling at just the sight of him. Bloom was smitten and knew what she wanted.

 “Does it hurt?” she asked when he winced and grabbed his neck while sitting beside her in ED.

 “Very” he answered with a smile. He stopped the task in hand, leaned back in his chair and turned his full attention to Bloom.

“What?” she asked feeling his eyes on her.

He mouthed ‘I MISS YOU’

Bloom mouthed back ‘SHUT UP’ and tried to hide her smiling face from the nurses, who will feel betrayed at the sight of her reconnecting with the enemy.

Just like that, they easily fell back into how things were. Bloom asked him to wait for her outside the hospital once the shift was over. He waited near the gates, still wearing his scrubs and fiddled with his phone until she emerged.

She came up to him and inched closer and closer until she pressed her lips against his.

“Oh! We’re going public” He deduced, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

“I don’t want to waste any more time” she said with determination. She came to the realization that she was simply happy being with him. Why stop a good thing?

Casey linked their hands and they walked out of the hospital together with having some of the staff looking in awe.

The gossip was at an all time high and the two added fuel to the fire by giving each other small pecks at the beginning and end of every shift.

“Bagging a nurse” Reynolds finally commented when he found Bloom alone in the locker room.

“He has a name” Bloom took offense by what her ex have said. She knew that was the first thing everyone will jump on to, but she shouldn’t care. Still, Reynolds got under her skin.

“I just don’t get it. The two of you don’t make sense to me” Reynolds continued.

“You lost any opinion on my life when you didn’t want me in your life plan.” she erupted then slammed the door behind her.

She was on a high, saying those words to Reynolds and wanted to celebrate. Bloom cocked her head at Casey, signaling to on call room. He followed her and closed the door behind him. Bloom was fired up, pushed him against the wall, and pulled him into a kiss, but he stopped her before going any further.

“Is something bothering you?” He asked, knowing that she wasn’t being herself.

Bloom never mentioned her past relationships or flings to Casey and wondered at that moment if she should tell him.

“It’s just one of the doctors told me we don’t make sense” she confessed and left out Reynold’s name. Bloom did not want to escalate the situation.

“This is between you and me. Why should we based our lives on what others think?” He reassured her.

Bloom could feel herself falling further in love with him. All her life she felt out of place.  Being the weird kid that never fits in. That feeling went away when she’s around him. Part of her knew she belonged with him and the other part reminded her that he’ll leave her soon and shouldn’t get too attached.

His neck and hand tattoos started to fade, and Casey was getting closer and closer to reenlisting.  

Bloom avoided the topic completely, but while the two had a lazy evening in her apartment, she approached it. 

“Why do you want to go back to the army?” She finally asked.

Casey corrected his posture. He did not talk about it to anyone.

“I want to better myself. The army can pay for my medical degree, and I could—“ He stopped, feeling slightly embarrassed saying it out loud.

“You want to become a doctor?!” Bloom finished his sentence for him. She was so proud of the extent of his determination.

“I can’t believe I am saying this to an actual doctor” he confessed as he shyly lowered his gaze downwards.

“The reason why you’re my second hand and not any of my residents? You’re better than them. If you want a degree, I can help.” She offered.

“Thank you, but I have a plan” Casey shook his head, not wanting his girlfriend to lend him money.

“Fuck your plan! There is always another way!” Bloom yelled. She was visibly annoyed and couldn’t carry on casually after Casey rejected her offer. The date ended there; moreover, the resentment carried on for the next few days.

“We’re not kids for you to ignore me like this” Casey confronted her when she stonewalled him.

“There are other ways to get your medical degree without joining the army and you didn’t even give me a chance to help” Bloom replied with tears streaming down her face.

“I won’t accept your money” Casey said with resolve.

“Just promise me you won’t enlist until I could find a way” she said.

He laid a kiss on her forehead and promised.

The day is coming soon.

But, Bloom was able to find a solution.

She convinced Max Goodwin, the medical director of The Dam, to invest half a million dollars into the hospital’s teaching program by selecting a number of students, nurses and doctors on an advancement program. Nominees were picked and Casey Acosta was one of them.

“You did this?!” Casey was shocked when he saw his name on the list.

“I only proposed the idea, and the committee selected you” Bloom was ecstatic.

Casey couldn’t contain his excitement. He hugged and twirled her body in front of everyone in the hospital.

“Fuck your plan, mine’s better” She said with a smile.


End file.
